Henry day



(No Model.)

H. DAY.

RAILWAY.

No. 464,455. PatentedDec. l, 1891.

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HENRY DAY, OF FAIRVIEYV, NEY JERSEY, ASSGNOR TO JAMES DAY, OF

SAME PLACE. i

RAI LWAY.

SPECIFICATION fencing part of Letters Patent No. 464,45 5, datedDecember 1,1891.

Appncaanfnea Maat so. 1891. serrano. 386.885. ormoni.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HENRY DAY, residing at Fairview, county of Bergen,and State of New Jersey, have invented a new and useful Improvement inRailways, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a new system of constructing and operatingrailways for the purpose of combining or multiplying velocities and ofavoiding the use of the dangerous, expensive, and cumbersome machinescalled locomotive engines and tenders as now used, and for obtaining thegreatest advantages of safety and speed with continuous travel andfrequent stopping, as may be desired, and also moving with lighter andsafer cars and more frequent trains.

To these ends my invention consists in a liexible endless driven ortraveling rail moving in a continuous manner and combined with carssustained upon said moving rail by means of driving-wheels, whereby thecars partake of the speed of the rail and also have an independentpropulsion of their own, which together multiplies or compounds thevelocity of the car and secures the advantages above described.

Figure l is a side elevation of a section of my improved railway. Fig. 2is a vertical cross section of the same on a larger scale. Fig. 3 is apartial side view of the same on the same scale as Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 isa plan of the circulating track in one of its forms.

A is one continuous endless iiexible bar or rail, which is preferablymade of steel, shaped in cross-section like al board set up edgewise andbending at the ends of its travel like a great steel belt, (with jointsor articulations, it preferred,) as shown in Fig. 4. This rail or trackmay be made of any metal or material, and may be made, as desired, inlarger or shorter lengths. This belt-rail may be made to move in theform of a loop in plan view, as in Fig. 4, or it may be a circle,ellipse, or of other form which runs into or returns into itself. It ismade to circulate at any desired velocity by being sustained upondriving-wheels B, of any suitable diameter or width, flanged at thesides to keep it from slipping off, which driving-wheels are placedalong the line of its route. These drivingby electric conductors orwires by \vhich power may be conveniently, economically, and efficientlydistributed to all the drivingwheels B along the route. As the travelingrail A circulates or moves from the frictional driving-power of itssupporting-wheels B, it is guided and held in true vertical position byguide-arms f', fastened to it upon opposlte sides and provided at theirextremities with traveling wheels c c` running upon track-rails of anydesired construction.

D D are cars of any approved materialV or form of constructionV adaptedfor the conveyance ot freight, passengers, mails, or munitions of war.These cars are provided with one or more supporting and propellingwheels d, which are flanged and rest upon the upper edge of thetraveling rail A. XjVhen only one propelling-wheel CZ is used, it isplaced in the middle of the car and other supporting-wheels are placedat each end. Then under motion, these cars will maintain their erectposition by reason of the tendency of moving bodies to preserve theirplanes of motion; but to steady and guide this car when starting andstopping it is provided with arms or stays g g,

reaching down from each side of its bottom and bearing at their lowerextremities f riction-rollers a a, which bear against the sides of thetraveling rail A. For giving an independent propulsion to this car onthe track A it is supplied with any desired motor, which is eitherplaced upon the same axis with the drive-wheel d and is coupled directlyto it or may be placed at any other point of the car and connected tothe drive-wheel by pulley and belt or chain-wheel, as shown. For manyreasons I prefer an electric storage-battery and motor located upon thecar; but the electric current may be delivered to the motor on the carthrough a trolley and wire or through the rail A as a conductor. A

Now it will be seen that when the rail A is traveling at a definitespeed from its propelling and supporting wheels B it will carry with itthe cars D, and as the cars D have still an independent means ofpropulsion on IOO the rail they have an independent progressive motionon thcrail A, which causes their speed to be multiplied in a cumulativeway that secures a very Vhigh velocity in a perfectly safe manner. Iwill now proceed to describe the means for stopping these cars atstations without interfering with the continuous through travel, and forthis purpose the stationary axles of the wheel (l are extended beyondthe sides of the car and are provided with wheels e c, and at thestations are provided suitable inclined track-sections E,which may bemoved laterally to or from alignment with the lower edges of the wheelse e. `\Vhen thrown out into alignment with the wheels e c, the car runsupon these inclined and elevated sections of track, and a lateral motionis then provided for shifting this track-section and car out of line ofrail A, so as to side-track. any car without interfering with thecontinuous following through travel on the traveling rail A. To restorea car to the main rail A, the track-sections J3] are switched or movedlaterally with the car until the wheel tl of the latter is in line withthe traveling rail, and the car is then allowed to run down the inclineat the opposite end of the side track and renew its connections with thetraveling rail A.

In operating such a system of railway very short curves for thetraveling rail Amay not be practicable; but with a gradual curve of longradius it will be found that a steel bar of suitable width andthickness, hinged, jointed, or otherwise, possesses sufficient pliancyfor lateral deflection as to easily accommodate itself to the gradualbends of the route. At such bends or curves it is of course necessary tohave stationary guide rollers or pulleys for guiding' and controllingthe curva.- ture of the traveling rail.

llaving thus described my invention, what l claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is-

l. A single moving endless flexible rail supported upon and driven bydrivin g-wheels disposed along the route of the railway, in combinationwith devices for keeping said rail in place upon the driving-wheels,said rails being adapted to carry wheeled cars, substantially as shownand described.

il. An endless Aflexible belt-rail combined with and supported upondriving-wheels and one or more cars provided with propelling wheel orwheels resting upon the top of the circulating belt-rail and having anindependeutpropulsiou thereon,substantiallyas shown and described.

3. The combination, with the supporting and driving wheels B,of theendless belt-rail A, resting edgewise upon said wheels and provided withlaterally-projecting arms carrying rollers or wheels for steadying,guiding, and maintainingthe upright position ot' said beltrail,substantially as shown and described.

l. The combination, with the endless circulating belt-rail A, of a carhaving one or more propelling-wheels resting upon the upper edge of railA and having arms or stays projectingtrom the car and provided at theirends with friction-rollers bearing against the belt-rail to steady thecar, substantially as shown and described.

5. The con'1bnation,with the endless circulating beltrail and the carhaving independent means of propulsion thereon and laterally-projectingwheels c e, of the inclined sidetrack rails E, arranged to be alignedwith the wheels e c for the purpose of side-trackingr the car,substantially as shown and described.

G. The combination ofthe driving and supporting wheels B for thebelt-rail, the belt-rail A, set edgewise thereupon and havinglaterally-projecting arms with wheels c resting upon independent rails,the car D, having driving-wheels l resting upon the belt-rail andguide-arms g, with rollers a, the sidetrack wheels c e, and the sidetracks E, substantially as shown and described.

HENRY DAY. Witnesses:

E. M. CLARK, U. SEDcwIcK.

